Today would have been Riley’s 7th birthday. I miss him terribly, HOWEVER I choose to celebrate his life today. I truly believe God’s hand was in that situation. Riley never warmed up to Carly and I feared that he might hurt her one day. It was strange that he never took to her because he loved kids. He was the biggest, sweetest Bear. As much as I miss him, I am so happy to have had the joy of being his dog mom for 6 years. He brought me so much joy, comforted me with big Bear hugs, kept me warm in the cold, and made me laugh countless times. I miss him, but I love Carly more. I’m thankful for God’s protection of her. Today, I reflect on the wonderful things Riley’s life has brought me. I’m so blessed.

Matt and Rachael – Thank you so much for having me document your wedding day! It seems like just yesterday I had arrived in Colorado on a family trip and got your voicemail, “I’m from Canada but will be out of the country in Mexico…” “Scam?” I thought, but no, you were for real! lol! I’ve so enjoyed getting to know you both (and see your beautiful photography Matt!) and I can’t wait to see pictures from your amazing honeymoon in Europe! Still, so jealous! Maybe someday! Congratulations! xoxo -Jen

• Have a monogram made to go on a black umbrella.
• Buy a beautiful bird cage umbrella. Be sure it’s see through so I can capture you two without it blocking your faces.
• Rain boots are always cute with a wedding dress. Don’t be shy! Buy the bright ones you’ve been eyeing!
• A newspaper is always fun. In Chicago when it rained, it was useless to have an umbrella because the wind always blew the rain sideways or blew the umbrella inside out, so many times, you’d see people running with newspapers over their heads. This would always make for a cute picture or two.
• Don’t be afraid to get wet! I know it’s your wedding day but why, on the biggest day of your life, should you worry about getting your dress a little dirty or wet? Most cleaners can get out dirt and once you’ve said, “I do,” there is nothing wrong with getting a little playful.
• Not afraid to get wet after the formal ceremony is over? Why not go spinning in the rain?
• Planning a tent for an outdoor rain backup? I’ll tell you why that’s a bad idea… Flooding and mud. Even though the tent will shield your guests from getting rained on, the ground will still get wet and the puddles will still form. The grass doesn’t stop the water from getting underneath your tent. I’ve seen photos from other photographers taking pictures of them photographing bare foot in a puddle that covered their foot under a tent… It’s slushy, dirty, and probably not what your guests were hoping for.







• Many brides don’t want anything to touch their wedding dress on their wedding day. I have to challenge that line of things, however. You’re wearing a big, many times uncomfortable, white dress (or version of a white dress). That’s like putting a toddler in a white shirt without a bib. Even with a bib, they’ll manage to get it dirty. Even with the best of care and intentions, your dress will still get dirty. As long as your not serving spaghetti sauce with dinner, you’ll probably manage just to get some dirt on the bottom in which case the cleaners will be able to get that out for you. Instead of stressing over the possibility of your dress getting dirty, try to just live in the moment and let what happens happen. If underneath your dress gets dirty from dragging on the ground (most trains drag) then don’t worry! No one will see it but you. If it gets a little wet after your ceremony and family formals are taken, don’t worry! It will dry quickly.
• Lastly, my best advice as a previous bride and not as a wedding photographer, go with the flow. There will always be things out of your control on your wedding day and it won’t go exactly as you’d imagined it in your mind. Usually nothing does, but if you can learn to roll with the punches and choose to make the best of any situation, then no matter what, rain or shine, your wedding day will be as beautiful as you.

Happy Friday! Have a beautiful weekend!

Happy Thursday!

My great friend Monica recently purchased a Contax 645 and has been shooting a ton of medium format film stills that are just gorgeous. She’s really been my inspiration in so many ways and I love that she can bring that out in me. I like to call myself her mini-me because it seems like I always jump on these endeavors with her, though I don’t see myself buying a Contax anytime in the near future. Be sure to click here to go over to visit Monica’s blog and see the beautiful film she’s been working on of her son. I’m super jealous that she’s in Colorado shooting beautiful film stills right now as we speak! Anyway, Jon and Jessica had a gorgeous wedding out in Ponte Vedra. Here are my favorite film stills from their couples photos. These were shot with 800 speed film.

One of my favorite places to have photographed an elopement at was with Nicole and Marty from New Jersey at the Addison on Amelia Island. The Addison is a quant little bed and breakfast, happened to be owned by the parents of my April 20th groom (so excited for their upcoming wedding!). Nicole and Marty eloped in November of 2011 in Amelia Island. The weather was perfect. Florida is cooler, usually, come November so that “oven-like” heat was long gone.

Nicole and Marty eloped in the evening. The sun was perfect. I always like to say that the sun doesn’t set anywhere they way it does in Florida. You have that beautiful golden hour where the sun just makes everything golden. Oak trees almost look like they are on fire with how the sun glows around the hanging moss. It makes for the most beautiful and perfect sunset photos for your elopement. The rich colors of fall certainly help make it all the more beautiful too.

Here are a few of my other favorites from Marty and Nicole’s elopement. It was a perfectly intimate and romantic elopement. We walked the streets of Amelia Island taking photos of the happy newlyweds. Coming from New Jersey, Amelia Island was definitely a beautiful change for the time of year. Plus, we have palm trees; New Jersey doesn’t. So there! haha!

Nicole’s A Nicole’s flowers were beautiful. I loved the combination of white roses with both blue and pink shades of purple.

If you’re looking for something closer to the beach to stay and have your elopement on the beach, the Amelia Hotel at the Beach is a very popular hotel. In June of 2012, I photographed Jamie and Sam’s Amelia Island elopement on the beach and this is the hotel they stayed in. It’s right across the street from a popular bar and grill called Sliders.

The hotel is just across the street from the beach, however some of the rooms available do have beach views. There is plenty of beach access and beautiful dunes with lush foliage to make a beautiful blend of white sand, greens, yellows, and blues. The beautiful blue sky is unbelievable down here in Florida, especially when there are big puffy white clouds to contrast it. This particular day was the day before a tropical storm came through so the weather was particularly beautiful with lots of clouds.

After Jamie and Sam eloped and we did their couples photos, they decided to get wet! You have to be very careful when getting in water with a wedding dress because they become very heavy. Because the storm was move west to eat through the gulf and Amelia Island is on the Atlantic, the water was calm so we all felt comfortable getting in the water and knew that should Sam’s dress get too heavy, Jamie, myself, my assistant Corrie, and a beach full of people could come to her rescue. Here are some of my favorites.

As you can see through the photos, the surf was calm. The sky was beautifully blue and the sea was a gorgeous jade. Amelia Island has so much more to see and lots of wonderful food to taste. One of my favorites is Barbara Jeans. Their crab cakes and she crab soup are amazing. They sit on a beautiful marsh on the island so you get a beautiful view of the marsh if you sit on the porch to eat. If you’re thinking of eloping in Florida, definitely consider Amelia Island. Happy Tuesday! Enjoy the rest of my favs from Jamie and Sam’s elopement.

It seems it’s always a process. I continue, even five years later, to refine my business. It’s a process of a thousand failures to one success. It’s a process of cutting down in order to build up; a process of burning to get rid of infirmities and make stronger. At times I considered quitting. At other times I felt I was on top of the world. One thing has remained constant, though. My love for this beautiful craft has never ceased or dimmed, but has grown stronger. I crave knowledge of it, I feed off of the beauty of it, and I feel fulfilled down to the deepest parts of my artistic soul. I thank God for bringing me to a place in my life where I no longer have to be a “weekend warrior” or a dreamer of “someday” magically happening. I’m so blessed.

I bought this ring several years ago for many reasons, but mainly as a symbol of my commitment to my business. More often than not, you’ll always see this ring on my finger, especially when I’m shooting. The only down side is that it snags on all sorts of stuff, so if I’m wearing some sort of fabric that I know it’s going to ruin, I won’t wear the ring.

Lastly, my business would not have thrived without my amazing clients. I frequently get asked if I have any “crazy” brides or “bridezillas” and I always smile and say that I’m very blessed to have worked with the sweetest people. I’ve never had a bridezilla or “crazy” bride, however I don’t like to think of brides as “crazy” or “bridezillas.” I like to think that brides are normal every day people who have things they want and envision and when those things don’t happen the way they’d hoped, sometimes they are overwhelmed with everything else and their emotions come out in tears. They’re normal people but weddings can bring out a side of a person that may not showcase their best of moments. We’re human. We all have moments. Sometimes people we don’t know see those moments and we’re not always proud of them. Yes, I have turned away potential clients that I don’t think I could satisfy in the way that I choose to run my business, making us not a good fit for each other, but it’s not because they’re “crazy.” It is because I truly want the best for them and sometimes the best can be provided by someone else. Photographers are not a “one size fits all.”

With that being said, happy 5th birthday Jen Shannon Photography.

Happy Friday! I’m not sure how often I’ll have questions to answer on Fridays, but for now, I figure it can be somewhat of a Friday installment, though, don’t hold me to it because you know how I’ve been with blogging lately! So… this Friday, I decided to answer a question I get rather frequently. 

Potential clients frequently ask me this question. Do I edit all of my pictures? This question can mean many different things, but the answer is the same to them all. Yes. I mention in this article all of my opinions regarding editing. What I really hear my clients asking when they ask this question, however, is the below. I’ve included my answers below as well.

1. Do you edit your own pictures?

Yes. I do not outsource my editing. This is kind of a touchy subject among photographers. There are companies out there who will edit your photographs for a fee, making it easier for the photographer to not only deliver photographs in a timely manner, but allow them to live their life in between weekends and spend time with their families. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, however (and you knew there was a however coming) it is my personal belief that a professional photographer should be shooting in a way that allows them to do minimal edits to their work. They should also have a practical workflow in place that allows them to cull an entire wedding in under an hour. I average about 40 minutes for culling an entire wedding day worth of images. It is also my personal belief that a client is hiring a photographer because they like what they see and if you are having someone else edit your photos, then they are not truly getting your work.

2. Do you edit every single picture that is delivered?

Yes. It seems another trend in our industry is to deliver all of the photos unedited, but only edit the ones we like enough to post to our blog or website to show future clients. Many photographers also only edit the photos that go into the album. Again, if this is the way they choose to do business, that is fine, but it is my personal believe that, again, they are hiring you for what they see and if you aren’t delivering photos like what can be viewed on your website or blog, then they are truly getting what they think they’re getting. 

3. So if we look at an entire wedding gallery of yours, we will see consistency in your work, right?

Yes. You’ll see every photo is edited in the same manner so that they tell a story, consistently, from beginning to end of your wedding day. What good does it do my reputation to only show photos of work I like without showing that I CAN light a reception and I CAN work with off camera lighting and do them both very well? I want my clients to know that I don’t just do great pictures of details or portraits, but I do great work in every lighting situation. If you want to see any entire galleries that have been delivered to my clients, email me and I’m happy to send you links with gallery passwords.

I hope this has been a helpful article both to brides and other photographers. It gives a bride and groom something to think about when selecting a wedding photographer and it gives other photographers something to think about when it comes to their own workflow. If you have a question you’d like answered

With that said, these are my 5 things I can’t leave the house without and the various reasons why I can’t. I hope NONE of you can relate to the hand sanitizer… That’s just a shamefully sad story.

Happy Thursday!